Project Management: Starting Deliberately

One of the things about riding a motorcycle that is different than driving a car is how deliberate I have to be when getting ready to ride, when riding and when finishing my ride. That may not be true of everyone who rides a motorcycle, I’ve seen some folks with flip flops, cut-offs and a T-Shirt riding down the road. Those that are blithely unaware of the amount of risk they are taking or that don’t care about the risk. I’m not one of those motorcyclists. Riding down the highway at 65 miles an hour (or less) in a steel cage is very different than being perched on top of a 650 pound motorcycle.

The projects that have been the most successful for me are those that I’ve approached deliberately. Those are the projects that I’ve been clear about the decisions and the risks, understanding the consequences of each action taken by the project. Those are the project where I didn’t intentionally leave anything to chance. It didn’t matter whether the project was large or small, complex or simple, long or short, predictive or adaptive. It was the deliberate way in which the project was started, planned and delivered that made the difference.

I’m not suggesting that being deliberate takes a long time. I believe that being focused ensures taking just the right amount of time. I’m suggesting that there is a balance between the two extremes of not enough planning/analysis and too much planning/analysis, that the balance comes from being deliberate about framing what is being requested by the customer and what can be done to fulfill that request.

It doesn’t matter how far I’m going on the motorcycle, I always put on my helmet, gloves, boots, long pants (jeans, chaps or over-pant) and jacket. I do this whether I’m going around the block to make sure the bike is still in good working order or to the Outer Banks and back. It isn’t complicated and I do the same thing every time no matter how far or fast I’m going to be traveling. It is my life and body that depends on my deliberateness.

Being that deliberate about managing projects is equally important. It isn’t about being able to check something off a list. I don’t simply look at the helmet and move on. There is a ritual, a familiarity that comes from doing it the same way every time. When I’m in a hurry and am not thinking about exactly what I’m doing I can forget to do the basics like fastening the chin strap. Don’t laugh, I’ve done it. I’ve put on the most important piece of safety equipment and forgotten to make sure it would stay on my head.

I believe our organizations and customers depend on our deliberateness. The projects that we are accountable for may not seem like much. A minor upgrade, package integration, or software enhancement are all very familiar types of projects. It may not seem as if “my life and my body” depended on my being that deliberate. I would argue that an organizations on-going viability is based on the ability for it to stay current technologically. The organization will only achieve that goal through project management. An organizations life blood for moving forward and for achieving change is their projects.

It is critical to be deliberate about what I do when I start a project, making sure that I am focused on what is to be done and doing it in a measured way. I can’t allow distractions to shadow the work that needs to be done. I need to make sure to slow things down just enough to be sure the team, the organization and all of the stakeholders are fully prepared. That is a basic principle of project management that knows no methodology or style of delivery.

Ride On, Manage On.